La Reina loses state Mock Trial competition

La Reina High School’s mock trial team finished second in the state competition on Sunday, missing its chance for a fourth state title in a row.

The students from the Catholic girls school in Thousand Oaks competed against a team from Menlo High School in Atherton in the final round of the competition, at the Old Courthouse in San Jose.

In the contest hosted by the Constitutional Rights Foundation, students play attorneys, judges, plaintiffs and defendants in a court case designed to show their grasp of the law and their ability to argue constitutional issues.

Menlo, which placed third in the California finals in 2013, won its first state championship.

The La Reina team won the Ventura County contest in February and the state competition in 2011 through 2013. La Reina also has two world titles and took second place at the nationals last year.

Co-captain Nisha Srinivasa, 18, who has been on the La Reina team since her freshman year, said she was sad but philosophical about being the runner-up this year.

She said she had hoped the team would win so she could have another chance to win the national competition before she graduated.

“I really wanted to go to the national competition and compete with my amazing teammates at a national level so it’s a little bit disappointing,” Srinivasa said.

“I thought we performed the best we possible could have given the circumstances,” she said. “Everybody just went with the flow, and I couldn’t be more proud of my teammates.”

Co-captain Olivia Aucilino, 17, has also been on the mock trial team since her freshman year.

“It’s a bummer we lost, but it happens,” the senior said as the team prepared to return to Ventura County.

“We knew it was a very close round going in. I think both teams were excellent. It was very good competition,” she said.

Aucilino described mock trial as the best experience of high school.

“It’s taught me how to be a good person, to be confident, to strive towards a goal and reach that goal,” Aucilino said.

“It has taught me the ability to work hard and that hard work pays off,” she said.

The 14 students on the team are coached by Liz Harlacher with the help of attorneys who volunteer their time.